DETROIT - Year after year, Detroit Cass Tech is
honored with players selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. In five of the
past six years, at least one Technician suited up in America's most prestigious
high school football all-star game.

That tradition will continue January 5, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas, when
cornerback Jourdan Lewis suits up for the East squad. Lewis received
his game jersey in a ceremony this afternoon at Cass Tech. For the four-star
prospect, it's almost more of a relief than anything.

"I'm just glad I get to get my [All-American] banner up there in the rafters at
Cass," he said. "I'm glad to have that honor and be one of the greats at Cass
Tech."

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Lewis follows in the footsteps of such former
Technicians as William Campbell (2009) and Royce Jenkins-Stone
(2012), who, like Lewis committed to Michigan. Unlike those players,
however, he didn't follow a traditional path to Cass Tech. Living outside the
city of Detroit, attending high school at the powerhouse was just the last step
in his journey to All-American status.

"Ever since he was on the Roseville (Mich.) Broncos, he's been dreaming of
this," said Linda Lewis, Jourdan's mother. "From there he went to the West Side
(Detroit) Cubs, and now he's here at Cass Tech. That's all been the steps along
the way to where he got the honor today."

If his journey from suburb standout to city star -- and ultimately All-American
-- seemed unpredictable, don't tell that to his youth coach with the Roseville
Broncos, Kurt Latour.

"Ever since the first time I saw him play, I knew he was capable of this,"
Latour said. "It was easy to coach the team with Jourdan on it. We just ran
'Jourdan Left, Jourdan Right' on every series."

When he was that age, Lewis never imagined he would be named to an All-American
game. However, he did have his sights set on some lofty goals. He dreamed not
just of playing college football, but being the best in the game.

"No, I never even thought of [being named] All-American," Lewis admitted with a
laugh. "I was dreaming of winning the Heisman. I wanted to win the Heisman so
bad when I was little. That was the main goal, and now I'm happy that this
happened, another step on the way."

With all the talent walking the halls of Cass Tech -- five seniors are committed
to Division I colleges, and a handful of juniors already hold multiple
scholarship offers -- it's still a special moment for Cass Tech coach Thomas
Wilcher when one of his players receives an honor.

However, it's not something that wins football games, and that's his main
concern.

"I think it's great that the kids have the opportunity to participate in those
Army All-American and Under Armour Bowl games. It establishes your team, and
what type of level your team is with what type of players you have on your team.
But my key thing is to not just establish players, but now try to uplift my
whole team to that top level in the country so we can just keep it going the
same way.

"That's what people don't understand: it's the team that wins games. The
individual players themselves, that makes it hard, because they'll lose games
[unless they play as a team]. It's great to have kids like I have, but if you
can them all working together on the same page toward one common goal, it's
great."

The game doesn't occur until after Lewis' senior season comes to an end, so the
ceremony was the final distraction for the team. Cass Tech is 5-1 on the year,
and the Technicians are poised to defend their Division I State Championship
this November.

After that, Lewis will use the bowl as one more chance to show what he's got.

"I'm just looking forward to showing the whole country that I can play, and play
with the best guys in the country," Lewis said. "On a national stage,
everybody's watching you. It's my last chance to make a big impression."